New Atlanticist

Sharp insights and bold ideas from across the Council

From climate change to the China challenge and the contest between democracy and dictatorship, the New Atlanticist is where top experts and policymakers at the Atlantic Council and beyond offer exclusive insight on the most pressing global challenges—and the US role in addressing them alongside allies and partners.

The Council’s flagship section features big ideas, groundbreaking research, lightning-fast expert reactions, in-depth analyses, and thought-provoking commentary to shape public policy.

New Atlanticist
Sep 4, 2025

Dispatches from Damascus: The state of Syria’s postwar transition nine months after Assad’s fall

On a recent trip to the Syrian capital, Atlantic Council experts took note of how far the country has come since the Assad regime’s fall and what still needs to happen to secure peace and prosperity.

New Atlanticist
Aug 29, 2025

Twenty questions (and expert answers) about the negotiations to end Russia’s war in Ukraine

By
Atlantic Council experts

August saw a flurry of diplomatic activity to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As September nears, Atlantic Council experts share their insights on what to expect next.

Conflict
Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

New Atlanticist
Aug 28, 2025

Germany wants to double its defense spending. Where should the money go?

By
Atlantic Council experts

After decades of Berlin underinvesting in its defense, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has plans to transform the Bundeswehr into Europe’s strongest military.

Defense Policy
Europe & Eurasia

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Dive deep into developing stories, guided by continually updated expert analysis that leaves you better informed about the most pressing global issues behind the headlines.

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Our experts decipher and annotate major speeches and policy documents to break down big ideas and lay them out in plain language.

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New Atlanticist

Dec 1, 2009

Where is the Indispensability?

By Tariq Fatemi

The Obama White House’s first state guest was the Indian Prime Minister, which was not surprising given that India is the big success story of the post-Cold war era that appears destined for an increasingly important global role.

New Atlanticist

Dec 1, 2009

Pakistan and India: Common Threat Needs Common Defense

By Pervez Hoodbhoy

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi says Pakistan is “compiling hard evidence of India’s involvement” in terrorist attacks on Pakistan’s public and its armed forces. If he and the Interior Minister are correct, then we must conclude that the Indians are psychotics possessed with a death wish or, perhaps, plain stupid. While India’s assistance for […]

New Atlanticist

Dec 1, 2009

Obama Faces Ghost of LBJ in Tonight’s Speech

By Don Snow

President Obama has apparently reached his decision on Afghanistan, which he will explain to the public on Tuesday night. If early leaks intended to get us more used to–and presumably comfortable with–the content are correct, he is going to give General McChrystal most of what he wants, although with some time constraints (the “off ramps”) […]

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Nov 30, 2009

Obama’s Afghanistan Speech: What to Look For

By James Joyner

President Obama’s speech tomorrow night, in which he finally announces his Afghan strategy and responds to General McChrystal’s September request for more troops, will be closely watched by the American public, our NATO Allies, foreign leaders, and the people of Afghanistan and the region.

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Nov 30, 2009

Swiss Minaret Ban Latest Salvo in Religious War

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

Ask Google a question — one of the hundreds of millions it receives every day from all over the world — and in 2.8 seconds it has scanned some 30 billion Web pages and a couple of billion images, and produced scores of possible answers. Pity the cub reporter who has yet to develop what […]

New Atlanticist

Nov 30, 2009

OSCE’s Role in Afghanistan

By Borut Grgic

On Tuesday, the foreign ministers of 56 participating states in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will gather in Athens to review the security developments in a region spanning from Vancouver to Vladivostok.

Afghanistan

New Atlanticist

Nov 25, 2009

Is Pakistan Serious about the U.S.?

By Harlan Ullman

Convened for the first time by the Canadian Ministry of National Defense and the German Marshall Fund – a think tank established by the German government in honor of Gen. George Marshall and the plan for European recovery that bore his name – the Halifax International Security Forum met over the weekend.

Pakistan

New Atlanticist

Nov 24, 2009

Philippa Thomas Interview: India PM Visit

By James Joyner

Sarwar Kashmeri, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s International Security Program, interviewed Philippa Thomas, presenter of BBC’s World News Today, for the New Atlanticist Podcast Series. Thomas discussed the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to the United States.

New Atlanticist

Nov 24, 2009

Ashton Can Fix EU Foreign Policy

By Borut Grgic

The new pair to lead Europe on the world stage has a tall order of business to attend to as soon as sworn into office. It is shameful that so many are wasting time and energy on wishing that the European leaders decided differently on these appointments.

European Union International Organizations

New Atlanticist

Nov 24, 2009

Global Financial Collapse Coming?

By Arnaud de Borchgrave

Reputable financial houses, as they are described online, are telling their clients how to prepare for potential “global collapse” over the next two years. France’s Societe Generale, according to the London Daily Telegraph’s chief investigative reporter, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, is such a house that is now “mapping a strategy of defensive investments to avoid wealth destruction.”

Economy & Business

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